Falling Into Place
by ProphetessofLove
Summary: Thanks to Sarah, Double D was taken away by child services before being taken in by the McGee family. Now, living with Eddy and dating Kevin isn't both working out. Will everything finally begin falling into place between Eddy and Double D? And what is going to happen now that Eddy's brother had moved in? And has he really changed for the better?
1. Chapter 1

Falling Into Place (EnE)

. .

First Chapter

..

..

A few months after Eddward Marion Vincent turned the age of fourteen his parents sent him a letter before their arrival at their home in Peach Creek informing their son of their return. They'd asked him to have the house in tip top shape. The two preferred to come home to a spotless home. Double D was more than happy with the news of their upcoming arrival and hurried over to Ed's to tell Ed and Eddy he would be busy for the next two days and that his parents were going to be returning.

He cleaned the house more than twice during the time period of two days and made sure that the presentation was good enough for his parents' eye.

When his parents arrived they came out of a blue mini van that was used as a taxi. This surprised Edd greatly as he stared ahead from his front porch while his parents emerged from the cab, his father holding his and his wife's brief case. The expressions on their faces were as serious as ever.

room and Mrs. Vincent walked forward towards the door. Double D smiled, welcoming his parents and opened the door before stepping aside. His mother tilted her neck downward as she walked past, in behind her husband, and smiled down at her son. It warmed the young Vincent to be greeted with the sight of his mother and father once again.

Mr. Vincent, the more serious of the couple, neatly placed his suitcase on the glass coffee table and turned to look at his son who had just closed the door after his mother entered the home.

"Eddward," he had spoke to gain his son's attention.

Double D walked forward and stopped to stand directly in front of his father who was still clad in his expensive suit, something the beanie-wearing Ed had often witnessed his father wearing after he returned home from one of his assignments.

"Yes, father?"

The man explained to his son with an emotionless tone that himself and his wife were going to cover all of Eddward's expenses whilst they went over to Nicaragua to lend their services to the needy. This entire time Crystin Vincent tried to keep herself from crying, her eyes often threatening to well over with tears. The young boy stood in shock, for Edd it felt like time had stopped. Mr. Johnathan Vincent went on to tell Eddward that he was entrusting him with the keys and ownership of a brand new car that he obviously wouldn't be granted permission to drive by neither himself nor Crystin until he turned 15 years old. And then that he would only be allowed to use the vehicle to practice driving until he got his driver's license.

Double D had burst out crying which caused his mother to cry. Her eye make-up running down her cheeks as she bent over to put a comforting hand on his shoulder before she pulled him into a hug. Double D didn't protest even though he wanted to cry out that he hadn't even wanted the car in the first place and that it was his mother and father that he'd yearned the presence of for the past five long years.

His mother and father spent the entire day with their son. When nightfall came Crystin sat on her son's bed with him until he drifted off into his slumber, tucked into the soft and warm comforter. Johnathan watched from the doorway feeling sorrowful and full of blame as tears trailed down his wife's cheeks prior to her putting a clutching hand on her son's shoulder when he turned over and onto his side during his sleep.

Johnathan turned away and began walking towards his bedroom. His wife sat on the single bed and wept for a few moments before she pulled herself together and made her way to her bedroom. There at the entry way she saw her husband already packing a few clothing items and cologne from the dresser into a black suitcase. Crystin sucked up every sorrowful feeling she had, reminding herself that she must be strong, and ambled exhaustedly over to the walk-in closet and pulled out her navy suit case and began looking through some of her expensive designer dresses and business outfits. Her aim was to pack as many as possible to take with her, pick out some pajamas for herself and leave a note for her son to try and make himself some extra money by selling any extra clothing and furnishing the two left.

"Remind me to tell the taxi driver to pull over at a store so we can pick up some extra bathing and cleaning supplies, dear," Crystin's soft, feminine voice had entered the room and was directed at her husband.

"Will do," Johnathan had replied while he zipped up the first compartment of his suit case and then walked towards the bathroom to retrieve his own hygiene products.

Crystin and Johnathan spent the next fifteen minutes searching through their bedroom area for things they desired to take with them before zipping up their suitcases. Crystin grabbed a pad of sticky notes from the one of the night stands beside of the table and a black bic pen and followed her husband's lead to their son's bedroom door which was cracked open. A tiny globe night-light reflected a faint blue light into the hallway and lit the opened area. Crystin stopped at a wall right outside of her son's room, set her suitcase on the floor and with a french-manicured hand she pressed the pad to the wall and clicked the pen.

She ended what she had to say with, I love you very much, Eddward and a perfectly assymetrical heart after. When she backed away from the wall and turned her neck she saw her husband with a regretful look in his eyes and his arm sticking out with his hand flat in the air. She couldn't help but smile as she gladly placed the pad onto his palm after she removed the top note from the rest of the pad.

After the petite woman placed the pen across the palms of his fingers and crossed her arms atop her rib cage. Johnathan walked towards the wall and she forced herself to hinder her laugh. It was quite amusing to see such a serious man walking around in slacks and bunny slippers. When the man was done with his two notes to his son he clicked the pen and soundlessly followed his wife into his son's room.

They quietly stuck the notes to the table by his bed. Johnathan placed the pad and the pen on the nightstand, turned and bent over his son who was sleeping peacefully with a smile on his face. His large hand was brought from his side to lift the cap that partially covered his forehead. During this time Crystin walked around to the other side of the bed where she sat down and gently moved her long, thin arms around her son's sleeping form. The young man's father rubbed at his son's head while his wife hugged him and brought her face down to rest on top of his small chest. Some of the boy's shiny black locks spilled out from the hat atop his head causing his father to smile before he placed a kiss on his forehead.

Crystin sniffled after she lifted her head and Mr. Vincent stood. He slid his hand into his pants pocket and placed a silver credit card on the nightstand above the sticky note he'd stuck there. His wife followed him out the door after she picked up her suitcase and he cracked the door before following her down the stairs. Mr. Vincent retrieved his suitcase from the coffee table while Crystin slipped on her black two inch heels. He walked over to the door, bent down, put his shoes on his feet and joined his wife on her short walk to the car. The taxi was still outside, the meter still running, charging the two.

.

The next morning Edd awoke to find what his parents had left him and the house to be empty once more. At twelve o clock sharp there was a knock at the door which Double D answered, still in his pajamas. There was a man in front of him in uniform with a clipboard and a stack of papers.

The man asked if his name was Eddward Vincent which the teenager confirmed that Eddward Vincent was indeed his name. He was handed the clipboard and a pen from his shirt pocket and told to sign and initial a few papers. After the man had gotten the information he needed he motioned for the man in the carrier truck to grant the brand new black Mercedes Benz e class. A man got out of the passenger seat of the delivery truck while Edd ran to open the garage door. He reappeared and stood by the man's side and watched as the man got into the car and slowed it down the ramp it was on before turning it and pulling it into the garage. He parked it with ease with a few of the neighborhood kids watching in the background. They chatted amongst themselves as the gentleman emerged from the car.

He handed the car keys to Double D. Double D returned his smile and thanked him to which the man had replied with a "No problem." and a "Enjoy the ride." the man who'd come to the door unclipped the car's information and handed the stack of papers that were attached to each other by a paper clip to Double D before he excused himself to leave. Double D sighed to himself before making his way back inside to mourn the departure of his mother and his father.

.

At three p.m. that day Ed and Eddy showed up on the third Ed's porch and knocked incessantly on his vivid grey door until he answered the door. He opened the door, clad in his pajamas which consisted of a robe, bunny slippers, loose space ship pajama bottoms and a faded blue t-shirt. He told his friends he didn't feel like coming out today, his downer tone obvious which concerned his two best friends.

Throughout the next two weeks Ed and Eddy had tried to get their friend to come outside and spend time with them and the other kids living around the area but to no avail. The last day the two had tried they were not alone.

The two youngest of the neighborhood had become curious of their friend's unwillingness to leave his house and as the two watched Ed and Eddy leave Eddy's backyard and amble toward the ravenette's house Sarah whispered to her to tow-colored friend, "C'mon Jimmy, lets go see what's going on."

"Okay, Sarah," Jimmy had replied to the reddish-haired girl as he followed in behind her.

She snuck herself into a bush before her brother or Eddy spotted her or Jimmy. Jimmy crept into the bush after her and then hissed in pain.

"Owie, Sarah, there's a twig poking into my side!"

"Ssshhhh," Sarah whispered back with a finger to Jimmy 's lips. She took her finger away and peeked out from the bush. She watched as her brother and Eddy walked across the stepping stones and to Double D's front entrance. They stood still before ringing the bell. The door opened and Double D appeared with a dejected look on his face. Loss was in his eyes and it made Sarah feel sad for her long-time crush. She listened attentively as Double D explained his situation to his friends and promised he'd come out to see the two tomorrow. Right after that he apologized and told them that he had just needed some time for coping rehabilitation.

Ed and Eddy looked down and told him how sorry they were because of the recent events he'd been going through and the three said their goodbyes to one another.

.

Sarah dashed out of the bush unnoticed with Jimmy in tow and ran over to tell her mother what was going on out of worry. Her mother looked shocked and angry. She immediately dialed child services and reported Mr. and Mrs. Vincent for an issue of neglect.

His parents were contacted soon after and before they could stop them, child services was at their old residence and claiming their son. The second Mrs. Vincent heard about the incident she called the McGee family and demanded that she speak with Olivia, Eddy's mother. Mrs. and Mr. Howard McGee were very understanding of their situation and understood why they were lead to believe that it was completely fine that they saw that their child was fit to care for himself even though it was an utter outrage to the state. Whilst Olivia talked with Mr. Vincent, Howard contacted a lawyer and was prepared to have Eddward released from their services as soon as possible. It took five days to get him released. After the papers were signed and custody of Eddward was granted to Mr. and Mrs. Mcgee within a month of him staying in their household, due to the fact they were found to be excellent care-givers, Double D was there to stay.

..

A thin, pale teenage boy with dark hair covered up by a black ski hat with two vertical white stripes along the sides sat on an old, wide brown love seat in the spacious living room of the McGee house. He was texting away on his phone whilst his best friend, whom he lived with, was busily cooking some food. The walls in the living room were a burnt auburn, the tv was on, two dully lit lights were coming from two small table lamps and were starting to hurt his eyes.

The smell of pasta sauce, onions, and garlic drafted in from the brightly lit kitchen. Edd sighed heavenly and decided to move from the soft couch to the kitchen for better lighting. He entered the kitchen, he was dressed in a navy cardigan with light colored blue jeans and a white polo shirt.

The ravenette sat his phone down on the kitchen table and squirted a dime sized drop of hand sanitizer onto his palm before sitting down. He began rubbing his palms together prior to slicking the hygienic concoction all over his cool-toned hands. When he went to grab his phone a pack of cowboy killers happened to catch his eyes.

The ravenette tsked before becoming the solo peanut gallery, "Eddy, I do wish you wouldn't take up such unhealthy lifestyle habits."

Eddy, the shortest of the Eds glanced over from the stove, fixing his gaze on Double D for a moment before he turned back to give his preparations a good inspection before turning back and momentarily fixing his gaze on his friend.

Sounding confused, he asked with a quirked brunette brow, "What exactly?"

Edd grabbed the cigarettes as though the pack of them was a dirty diaper, holding it in the air with his finger and thumb. " _Cigarettes_ , Eddy," he asked as if to say, " _Really_?" in a sassy tone.

Eddy looked over once more then scratched at his hairnet covered head with his mitted hand before going back to making his signature mashed potatoes.

"They're not mine."

Double D put the pack back in the spot he'd picked them up from, Eddy could be heard chopping away at a fourth of a yellow onion on a wooden cutting board in the background. To himself, the brunette wondered if one of his parents had picked up the habit. He went on to consider that his father might have went back to gambling. Eddy picked up the cutting board by it's handle and used his knife to slide the onions into the pot.

Putting the cutting board and the knife down on the white stone counter top he remembered he needed pepper. He grabbed the wooden spoon from a tall metal cup to his right and started to stir the ingredients while shaking the mixture of red pepper flakes and black pepper onto the mashed potatoes. The pepper shaker was slid away from him in a haste, he made a grab for the Cheyenne pepper, but mistakingly grabbed the salt instead. He sent it away after looking at it's appearance with seemingly sleepy eyes. This time he looked and grabbed the Cheyenne pepper and the saffron marinated mushrooms from dipping sauce bowl that was next to it with his fingers and tossed them into the pot.

Sprinkling just a bit of the spice into the mashed potatoes, stirring and then repeating the process a maximum of three more times got him almost done with cooking the helping of mashed potatoes. He placed the Cheyenne pepper in the middle of the stove and turned off the stove.

"Hey, Double D, can you get me a bowl and a spoon, please?"

"Of course, I'd be more than content with accommodating you, Eddy," Double D replied with a smile.

Eddy put the pot over on an unused burner so that what was on the bottom of the pan wouldn't get any hotter to reduce risk of burning and disposed of the hairnet. A loud knock at the door caught his attention and he made a bee-line for his worn black hoodie that was atop the door hinge nearest to the front exit. He pulled the sleeves onto his arms and without bothering to zip it up he opened the door to be faced with a familiar redheaded jock.

"Hey, man, can I come in," Kevin asked the brunette.

Tiredly, Eddy scratched at his now cut belly through his white wifebeater, "Yeah, sure."

He moved aside, allowing the entrance of the taller male. Kevin made his way to the kitchen to greet his boyfriend; Edd.

Double D looked up with a smile when he noticed his boyfriend heading his way. Eddy reentered the kitchen.

"Oh, Eddy, I filled a bowl of mashed potatoes up for you and took the liberty of adding the chili to it for you."

Eddy smiled and his eyes brightened. He lifted his arm and took the medium sized bowl from his friend and scooted around him to sit at the table before digging into his meal.

Kevin raised his arm and nervously rubbed the back of his neck in an up and down motion, "So.. Uh listen, babe, I kind of messed up. I can't buy you dinner tonight, I kinda spent it on liquor."

Upon hearing this, Eddy's gaze fell and negativity entered his eyes. He wore a frown accompanied with a look of disappointment. He had one question, how does one decide on alcohol over his or her own boyfriend? Especially when he knew taking a certain sockhead out would undoubtedly paint a smile on his face..

"Kevin, you spent your paycheck on alcoholic substances," Double D asked scoldingly while Eddy narrowed his eyes disapprovingly, "You're under age," he exclaimed.

"Y-yeah, I know.. But me and the guys really wanted to go to a senior party and it was a bring your own so I_."

Eddy, not wanting to hear anymore of his excuses cut in, saying, "Its alright. I'll feed him. I've gotta cook more garlic pot anyway."

With that Edd mosied over to the stove, mitted his right hand and opened the oven door. Kevin apologized to Edd who said, "Don't worry about it, you don't have to get me anything."

"Bon appetite," Eddy said and served the dish he'd made for himself.

The dish was a tasty special Eddy had made up himself when he'd discovered how to make garlic bread from scratch and wanted to step up his chicken pot pie. Garlic bread was the pie and the filling was a savory seasoned garlic pasta topped with a little cheese.

"It smells amazing, dude," Kevin commented appreciatively.

"Thank you very much, Eddy."

Double D sat down and Eddy picked up his bowl and sat down on the other side of the table, "Get yourself soms mashed potatoes, shovelchin," Eddy said, "I made way too many anyway."

"Uh, yeah, thanks."

Eddy watched as Double D took his first bite of his garlic pot and smiled. He was clearly pleased by the dish.

Double D chewed his food up quickly, wide grin never ceasing to enhance his facial features which made Eddy smile, "Eddy, it's absolutely delicious. Garlic bread and tiny cut up noodles that taste just... Amazing! And they're spicy?.!"

Eddy popped some mashed potatoes in his mouth then nodded and scooted over so Kevin could sit, his smoky grey eyes never leaving Edd's shining navy orbs, "Glad you like it."

Kevin stirred his mashed potatoes around before spying something amidst the potatoes, "I dunno about this, man. There's broccoli in this."

"There's also cheese," Eddy replied and Kevin shrugged. He took a bite of the mashed potatoes and utterly loved what he'd made.

"Damn, that smells good!"

Surprised, the three boys moved their eyes away from their fascination with the food to see Eddy's brother walking towards them. Eddy took the spoon from his mouth and dispensed it into his half-eaten bowl.

Eddy let out a light, nervous laugh, "H-he-h-hey, Terry. What're you doin' here?"

Terry walked forward and gripped his pack of cigarettes. The three seated males eyed him with caution as he retracted his hand and pulled out an unpacked cigarette before reaching into his pocket. He ignored the three sets of eyes while he removed his black lighter and lit the cigarette. Smoke entered the room as he spoke, "Mondo-a-go-go got closed down, I couldn't find any work so mom and dad said I could stay."

"How did you ever manage to get inside," Double D asked before turning his attention back on his cooling food.

"How I managed was walking in right through the back door, girlfriend," came the response to Edd's voiced inquiry.

Eddy blushed a faint shade of light pink, "He's not my girlfriend and he's not a girl."

Kevin stood from the table as Eddy and Edd continued to eat their meals, "He's my boyfriend, man," Kevin exclaimed in a large-mannered fashion.

The tall, brown-eyed McGee took a puff of his cigarette before flicking his ash to the side, "And you've got a problem," he asked with a raised brow.

To this Double D sent his boyfriend a look, "Calm yourself, Kevin," came his suggestion as he simultaneously tried to ignore the pesky urge to clean up the slight disarray Terry had caused.

Kevin didn't respond. Instead he reoccupied the his previous seat and returned to eating his meal. Eddy picked up his empty bowl and stood. Terry moved aside as Eddy walked by to deposite dish into the kitchen sink. He stayed off to the side and when his younger brother returned to the table he reached into the pocket of his faded black jeans and pulled out his camo wallet. He lifted his head and looked at the redhead before refocusing his attention back below and checking through a few bills. Finally, after some quick looking, he found what he was looking for. A worn U.S. note worth exactly fifty dollars. The brunette released the bill from the area it was in and held it in his hand.

"I'm going to give you some money to take Double D out for the night," he told Kevin then made it known that he was paying for his best friend to have a nice night, but that Kevin however would be put in debt if he accepted the offer.

Kevin raised his hand and waved it back and forth in the air, "Naw, man. Thanks, but I really don't wanna owe you," he turned his green-eyed gaze on Double D and asked, "We can have a good night just us, right, babe?"

The jocks rejection of his cash ticked Eddy off and he guessed he would probably be on edge for the rest of the night. Edd's navy eyed looked up from his meal and he directed a forced smile at Kevin, "Yes, I'm positive, as always, it will be pleasant," then turned to Eddy, "Thank you very much for your generosity, Eddy. I truly appreciate your kind offer of giving."

"No problem, sockhead. Here, get something for yourself tonight, I trust you."

Double D only politely declined his offer, reminding Eddy that he had aplenty of money on his visa. Eddy stuck the fifty back into his wallet and then his wallet back into his pocket, "Hey, do me a favor and take over some food to Ed in one of those plastic containers. There's gravy in the fridge I made. It's low fat, I was, ah, listening to what you were saying about a fatty liver so I went out and got some of that."

Edd stared at Eddy wide-eyed, "Why, Eddy! What a wonderful and considerate gesture..! That is so thoughtful of you to go out of your way and to provide a portion for our dear friend, Ed."

After Edd was finished with his meal the time was six thirty p.m. Quickly, he put away his dirty dishes and filled up a container with mashed potatoes before fitting the lid on top of the container and tightly sealed it. Terry had walked out of the kitchen by this time and was assumed to be having some leisure time away in his room. Double D walked forward to the fridge, spotted the zip lock bag full of gravy and took it from the fridge. He shut the door and Kevin stood from the table.

"Ready to go, babe," He asked with a tone that spilled that he was ready to get out of there.

Double D remarked that he was ready to leave and Kevin allowed the ravenette to walk ahead of him before he put his arm around the middle of his back and lead him outside.

"Goodnight, Eddy. I hope all goes well for you," Double D called out, looking at the brunette from over his shoulder.

"Yeah, night, Double D," he replied before his eyes fell and a small frown became visible on his face. He lowered his hand from the wave he'd sent his friend back to its prior position by his side and sighed dejectedly as he watched him and Kevin exit the house.

Eddy decided he'd get around to the dishes tomorrow and retired to his bedroom for the night.


	2. Tales of The Past

Falling Into Place

Tales of The Past (Cup #2)

Eddy was sitting on his king-sized bed feeling pretty down as he occasionally did whenever he had the displeasure of seeing Kevin together with his best friend.

'Why can't it at least be someone who'll treat you right,' Eddy mused and began to recall the day he and Ed had walked up and found out about their newfound relationship.

Memory

At the age of fifteen years old on July 12th, Eddy was walking with one of his best friends, Ed Hill, after previously going over to his house to get the taller male to hang out with him. The two were walking toward the center circle of their culdesac.

"Hey, let's go find Double D," Eddy had said, his tone displaying that he was in a good mood that day.

"Okay, Eddy," Ed had stated enthusiastically as he stepped out of his house and closed the door a little too hard.

At this time Eddy was looking from side to side hoping to spot the most intelligent one of the three Eds. Ed was only staring straight ahead with Eddy to his side, inspecting the area to his left. Suddenly, Ed called out, "Hey, Double D!"

This action caused Eddy to happily look over. A smile was on his face and he was prepared to wave his other friend over when he saw the intellectual pulling away from Kevin. The shortest Ed's mouth dropped open and Double D looked over, he appeared to be embarrassed. His eyes looked from Red to Kevin, both of whom wore a noticeable flushed face, and though it felt unbelievable to the youngest McGee, he wasn't always a fool.

That day, Eddy had no idea why, but he felt an animosity towards Kevin that he'd never felt before. He failed to notice Ed run over to the two until he grabbed Double D up from the ground and crushed him into a hug.

A formidable feeling of sadness began creeping in once he had worked up the nerve to walk up and confront the situation at hand. It was then that Double D had told him of his he'd just agreed to go out with Kevin on a date with a giddy smile and a giggle. Eddy almost lost his self-control and smiled, but with lit eyes he watched as the gap-toothed need smiled widely, giving away his gap, and brought a hand up to conceal his smile. His gaze fell again which lead Edd to question aloud whether or not he was alright.

"Yeah, somethin' buggin' ya, man," the redhead asked.

Eddy pulled it together, and told them both that it was nothing to worry about. The entire time he felt a soft pain in his heart which he had guessed came from fear of him losing his friendship with Double D. He told himself it was okay before Kevin announced that he thought it would be a great idea to throw a party that day.

"A wonderful idea," Double D stated as agreement.

The best thing Eddy could think of the news at the time was, 'Least he's happy.' after he recalled the smile taking over Double D's face.

Over the next few months Eddy hadn't exactly had the best days. He had started noticing he was feeling more content with each day that Edd was without Kevin. Every time he saw the two together Ed would run over and boisterously greet Kevin and Double D. He was always happy to see both Kevin and Edd. More so Edd, though. Eddy noticed his reaction to being met with the couple was nothing to die for.

On the contrary, the mere sight of the two had him feeling down. The smile fell right off his face whenever he would see them together. Feelings like these had him questioning his preference sometimes. There's no way! And yet there must be a way that that were the truth. Afterall, after being witnessed being cruelly treated by his elder brother at the amusement park four years earlier had changed the hateful ways of his and his friends' peers, Eddy and Kevin had no longer had a problem with one another. It's not as to say that Kevin would ever be Eddy's favorite person, but he most certainly was at least worthy of his friendship.

The thought of it being true that Eddy wasn't completely straight struck him that that logical idea was a negative one and that he himself was a lesser person if he was actually gay or bi. He denied himself exploration of the question that he was afraid to ask for two reasons. His first reason was that he doubted it. He thought that it really could be anything since the jock was his best friend's ex bully. He reasoned that maybe he was just concerned for his well-being. The other reason was that Eddy truly wanted to not find out that he was attracted to males. Instead he went on with his life until one day he blew up when he saw the two of them arguing in Kevin's driveway.

He'd watched Double D yelled at the redhead and then saw something that both shocked and filled him with rage. Kevin hurriedly lifted his hand in the air and Eddy ran over to them, his face red and ready to start a fight. Eddy had been passing time by working out lately.

He was about to throw a punch when Kevin smacked himself in the face.

Edd looked down at Eddy and Kevin over to see that the younger boy had shown up. Noticing the expressed anger crossing the features of his friend he smiled. He'd just gathered the awareness of the fact that Eddy would definitely be there to protect him. Double D smiled wider with the realization that he had a great friend who truly cared for him.

.

Memory

Rain was pouring all over the newly built city's streets and flooding rooftops all of the many places of business all around. The only lights within eyesight were the few street lights and the stars sparkling through the dark sky. A red light up ahead reflecting on the city pavement only five feet away warned him of a certain violation of he dared to cross it. The black car rolled to an abrupt stop and Eddy let out the breath he was holding in. Without taking his off of the stop light he reached over to his right and grabbed his phone in order to check to see whether or not there was yet another request to run take care of after his current errand. There was not nary a missed text or call. The light turned green and he took his foot off the break. He drove forward then took the first left. Eddy was on his way to pick up Ed from his very first football game.

Edd had kindly requested that Eddy go provide a ride home for Ed using his car. He told Eddy that he would do it himself, but he was busy treating his bronchitis. Eddy had understood his friend hadn't been feeling well, was drowsy and not feeling up to making the trip. Sympathetically, he decided to carry out the helpful favor for his sick friend. Edd had graciously thanked him for his help.

Eddy took a right before pulling into the school's parking lot to see a full-house of parked cars, a long line of cars near the High School entrance and three staff members in the process of directing them all while assisting students in finding their rides home. Eddy groaned and ran his hand through his newly sprouted follicles and let out a stressful breath. Work wss hsrd lately and he really despised waiting. He wasn't exactly a patient person and since he was in a rush to return home he pulled around to the exit/entrance of the gym and parked with lightning streamers flashing in the sky. He removed the keys from the ignition, departed the vehicle and started his lazy walk into the gymnasium. He walked through the gym door and looked to see that there was a party honoring what he correctly assumed to be the first win of their freshman year and began scanning through the crowd for Ed.

Over to the side of the gym by the large wall of painted white cement blocks stood Kevin with two girls under each arm. There was another cheerleader standing in front of him seemingly making idle conversation with ither himself or one of the other girls. Enraged, Eddy stormed out of the gym and back into the car that he'd left parked right outside of the gym. He floored the car back home in a haste and slammed the door to the house after making an entrance. Surprised, Edd looked up from the dining table with his big blue eyes.

"Eddy," Double D cautiously started his question, "where's Ed?"

Going over what Double D had asked he mentally slapped himself. In his blind rage he'd utterly forgotten the sole reason he'd driven over there. Eddy apologetically explained that it had slipped his mind and what Kevin was doing with those girls. That had gained the attention of Double D! At first he called it cheating until Edd corrected him. He went on to explain that nither of the three girls was Nazz. Double D stood up and started putting on his navy sweat shirt with Science Rocks Not Just Minerals in bold, silver print.

"I'm sorry, I thought that was cheating," Eddy voiced to the sockhead.

"It's alright, Eddy," he replied, sighing after. He popped his head out of the hoodie and hesitantly explained, "It's not whether it's cheating or not as far as I'm concerned," he said, though further mentioning it only hurt more and more, "It's about how he feels and quite obviously he doesn't feel as though I'm the only one meant to touch him."

Eddy watched as Edd pouted and headed out the door, pain seeming to seep from his dark, downward gaze. Eddy followed after. It came as a small surprise when he saw the feverish Ed walk around to the driver seat. The look on his face when he got into the car told Eddy not to try and talk him out of it. He was holding back his anger and Eddy felt even he was dangerously close to getting a taste of Double D's dark side.

The funny thing was, though it was Double D, it was absolutely unmistakable that at times Double D, too could be just a little bit frightening.

That night the cautious, strict-rule-abiding resident of Peach Creek drove faster than he ever had before. After all, he was the same and only person who has ever been required to speed up in the road to pass his driver's ed training. Looking over, the smoky-eyed brunette saw a strong caking of injustice that seemed to concentration on his friend's facd. Eddy knew Double D was angry, but he looked hilarious. Though he was still sharing the same feeling the disagreeable dilemma had temporarily cursed them with at the same time he found himself having to use quite a bit of strength in his attempt to keep himself hindered from laughing. All the while, Edd kept his eyes firmly focused nowhere but the road ahead.

Double D took the right and expertly slowed his speed. Quite smoothly, too. In no time he made the satisfying discovery of an empty parking space in the area. He slowed to a stop and rolled down his and Eddy's window. Sticking his head out the window while he eagerly awaited the departing of the three people in front of him to remove themselves from his way and leave for their destinations so he could get things over with. In the seat next to him, the brunette concluded that why his friend had did what he did. The answer was simple; He'd rolled the window down out of consideration for the health of his passenger. Silently, Eddy thanked him, grateful he'd be keeping the ability to earn moolah. Double D sniffed and rolled his window up before turning and then filling the parking spot he'd first seen not three minutes earlier.

Eddy followed after the ravenette who was setting out for the gym. Eddy followed him into the gym and began searching the crowd. His attempt was all to find Ed or Kevin. For Edd, his plan was really quite feasible; Find Ed and then confront Kevin. At the moment his heart was set solely in finding Ed. Ironically, though, his navy blue scanners landed right on Kevin who was up ahead, gladly granting a crowd of girls with his presence and attention. Watching enviously as Kevin talked with the crowd of girls surrounding him, he grasped what Eddy had been talking about. The redhead still was using two girls as his arm candy. The sight alone was enough encouragement for Double D to courageously start sauntering over in the direction his boyfriend occupied with pure confidence.

Eddy followed after him yet again while still in the middle of trying to locate Ed.

When Double D walked up and spoke it had snapped one of the girls' attention away from Kevin and into himself. Rancorously, she began looking him up and down, mouth falling into half-frown and eyes judging harshly ahead.

Kevin looked over and sighted the intellectual with an all too obvious look of shock on his face. Double D glared straight into his eyed. If looks could kill.. just like every one points out when someone is giving someone one of the five-star gravest looks possible.

"I'll request that you cooperate and move away from my boyfriend, please," Double D voiced, forcing a polite tone. Under the false tone of politeness was a tone that said, "I've had my share for the day, please do not bring me to the point in which I will be forced into repeating myself."

That girl smirked before backing away from the green-eyed redhead and putting her hands up and backing away slowly with her azure blue eyes on him in evident mockery.

Kevin sighed in defeat and and lifted his arm off of the other girl. Noticing the anger that came with his boyfriend, he mentally prepared himself for the situation that was sure to later come. All he'd have to do was smooth things over. Nothing too hard to get out of. He reasoned it'd make things much easier for him if his boyfriend wasn't so dignified.

At that point Double D squinted his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose. This was the sure sign of an on-coming migraine. He reached over and dragged the redhead towards his person with strength Eddy had had no clue he possessed.

"Looks like he's just a like he's just a little peeved over this whole thing. Look at 'm," she said as if she was mocking a child and pointed her finger at him, "Looks like he's come here to demand a dicking."

Double D released the wrist of Kevin and crossed his arms across his chest then hmphed audibly.

Everyone laughed harder than they did the first time which riled Eddy up. He shook with anger before shouting, "Don't you dare laugh at him, you bitch!"

Edd huffed and tuned out the crowd. Never raising his gaze which he kept fitted towards the filthy floor he aimed a suggestion at Eddy, "Calm yourself Eddy, your words will go undeserved by the ears of mere _children_." He had said the word children venomously and snapped a glare at quite a few onlookers. A couple of them 'ooo-ed' with some amusement leeking out from between their lips.

Double D looked to his left to see that Ed hadn't gotten distracted and ran off prior to spinning around on one heel and stomping off for the exit. Eddy hurried behind with Ed half-running after the perceived to be sour-puss with a hesitant redhead in tow.

In the car Double D refused to listen to Kevin's explanation and when they arrived at the culdesac the only thing he let Kevin hear out of his mouth was, "I ask that you give me time to think about our future."

With a look of remorse Kevin only supplied a box as he exited the car. Eddy, who was in the front seat, had heard good news, however for Ed the thought of a romantic-happiness saddened him to a mild degree.

Unfortunately for Eddy, the following night he heard that things between Double D and Kevin had worked themselves out. Ed came into the room and joyfully suggested they bake a cake which brought a smile to Edd's face. That had perked Eddy up who rarely could ever refuse to join in on one of his friends joyous friendly moments.

It was agreed that Double D and Eddy make a three layer cake together because they didn't all have taste for the same flavor. That night a cake was baked by the two. The top layer was angel food cake with cream cheese icing for Ed, a layer of vegan red velvet cake with dark chocolate to frost it for Double D and chocolate-vanilla swirl with hot fudge and coffee ice cream on top.

..

Memory

.

The ravenette walked into the McGee residence with his shoes already in hand. He bent down and neatly set them to one side of the door. Looking up he espied Eddy comfortably sunken into the enormous love-seat watching television. Eddy glanced over and smiled at his friend, ready to greet him when his smile promptly slid off of his face with a long-face to replace it. He had noticed that his friend was looking to be low in spirits which really troubled him.

"Hey, what's goin' on, sockhead?" There was concern mixed into his grey eyes.

Double D turned off the hall light, his lidded gaze had already fallen on the dimly lit leisure area. He inwardly groaned, he loathed dim lighting, but out of consideration for Eddy he chose to not say anything against it this time. That and he really wasn't up to doing anything but venting. It did in fact raise his mood just a tad that Eddy had asked because all he'd yearned for for the past hour was to come home and talk to someone about the unfair treatment he'd been damned to that evening.

The intellectual strolled into the living room before sitting down on the sofa next to the brunette. Not knowing where to start only made things worse by continuing to hold back his problems. His lidded eyes fell further and he sighed dejectedly. He didn't notice when Eddy frowned directly after his sigh nor the clenched fist laying on his friend's lap that was beginning to redden.

He looked away from Eddy and with his voice barely above a whisper replied, "Its about Kevin."

Eddy turned his body to face him and asked with a worried tone, "What did he do?" His undertone sounded malicious, as though he were going to be out for blood.

"Well," he began, "for starters, my date was less than satisfactory. Quite the opposite, actually."

Eddy laughed disapprovingly, "What - did he dump you?"

Double D looked down, then up into the depths of his best friend's eyes, "Heh... no. Actually, he seemed to think that the price he had to pay to get into my pants was to treat me to dinner.. That or he seriously thought that I was easy," Double D looked back down, feeling glum, "I-I can't believe that I actually thought that I was w_."

"Ohhh no," Eddy ordered, shooting up from his position and pointing a callous-crusted finger right at the ravenette's face, "Don't you even dare imply that you're not worth more than that because you damn sure are! Don't you ever dare say that. Especially over Kevin," he shouted. There was a glint of anger in his eyes, under his irises.

"That's very rude of you, Eddy," Double D pointed out.

Eddy sighed and slumped back down into the sofa before saying, "Yeah, well, you earned it."

Double D willed himself to give more of an explanation of the events of the evening, "He was very forceful_ Uh.. Oh! Please, Eddy don't confront him about any of this."

"He forced himself on you, Double D," Eddy asked seriously.

Double D implored Eddy not to get mad and do anything to which Eddy only repeated the last sentence he had asked. He sighed and worked up the nerve to tell Eddy of his predicaments. He explained how that the dinner and the movie had gone well and that he'd had a good time, but after the two recounted his bike Kevin had driven him over to the creek and after the two had settled on the ground to listen to the rushing waters Kevin had grabbed his chin and pulled him forward before forcing a kiss on him.

"Then, he tried to stick his tongue into my mouth and grab my b-bum. He didn't even ask for my permission. And the worst part was that instead of stopping when he clearly noticed I wasn't succumbing to ither of his actions, thought he could coax me into it and attempted to do so! Even when I was pushing on his chest he only tried harder," tears began welling over in his eyes as the memory replayed in his head, but he pushed himself to finish, "He stopped finally when I broke away from the kiss and asked him to stop. He didn't even care that I was crying, he just stormed off, infuriorated as though that was the only reason for me to him!"

Eddy held back his anger, silently, he swore to Double D not to avenge him. Though he desperately wanted to take his wrath out on Kevin, he swore he wouldn't for his best friend's sale. He knew though, according to himself, that his friendship with Kevin was officially over.

"You're not going to keep going out with him are you?"

Tears spilled from Edd's eyes and Eddy refrained himself from pulling him into a hug. Out of nowhere, he vibed to his friend that he was unsure of what he should do and that he didn't know if things were going to get better.

(Looking back, Eddy didn't know how he was able to watch his best friend cry. It was something that both broke his heart and filled him with rage. He had an idea what had kept him together though.)

"Why," Eddy's eyes begged Edd to tell him why he would even consider going back with a person (his eyes spat corruption as Eddy used them to speak it) who did that to him.

Double D shook his head. Eddy knew him well enough to know that he was saying that that wasn't it and that he had feelings for Kevin.

(Eddy remembered the deep-setting pain as soon as he had come to understand what Double D was trying and succeeding in telling him. Afterward Eddy had displayed to Edd that he was honestly praying and begging for him to dump Kevin anyway.)

The two spoke to each other without actually uttering a word for the next hour, Double D filtering out the rest of his thoughts on the matter to Eddy. Not once did ither of the two use words because Eddy didn't need to hear words to understand Edd and Edd didn't need words to tell anything to Eddy. Words were just simply not required for the two of them to communicate.

Double D leaned forward slowly and rested his head on Eddy's chest. Involuntarily Eddy wrapped an arm around the slender boy as he wept into his chest and began rubbing his back when he began racking with sobs.

After Double D retired himself to the bathing area memory of the past events set in and 'told' Eddy of him being in love with his rival's new boyfriend. He grumbled to himself, pushing every idea of love out of his mind as well as the memories and distracted himself with the television again.

.

Memory

(Eddy comes out to himself) [This is before the football game memory, btw.]

It had been months since Double D had spilt the sour news to Eddy about Kevin's forceful behavior. The whole time, Eddy had kept his promise not to get in the way of he and Kevin's relationship and had let it go on instead. Actually, their relationship had only gotten worse with Kevin continuing to attempt coaxing the other teenager into letting him have his way with him. Only thirteen minutes prior to entering the changing room at his work Eddy had gone through a crisis which ended with him admitting to himself that he was no longer attracted to the bubbly, blonde cheerleading captain and hadn't been since he was eleven years old. No, he had admitted that he wanted the raven-haired inventor who thought of planting rice gardens in the extra spaces next to sidewalk in neighborhood areas to help end world hunger, the boy who dreamt of seeing the world and parasailing to overlook lush natural forests and mountains, the Ed who always brought him a better mood, the Ed he always looked around for, hoping to see, the genius who wanted to force improvements into the people of the world!

He decided to accept himself, quit drinking, and be there waiting for him in case he ever came around to him wanting the same thing or in case he just needed someone to be there for him.

Eddy slid his shirt on over his head and smiled at himself in the mirror. Yep, he was the guy who chose to be there for Double D. He turned and pushed his work clothes into his backpack before exiting the changing room and heading out to Double D's car. He had a discreet stop to make before he went back over to his house and money to spend.

..

Eddy pulled out of the parking lot of an expensive jewelry shop and put the bag with the item he'd purchased with cash on the passenger's seat. Inside the bag in soft white box was a thin tarnished silver band. Engraved on the inside of the band was five words that held a meaning deep and true; My Gift From The Cosmos.

..

End chapter! Readers, tell this Loveprophetess what you think! It would have been longer, probably by a long shot, but I'm having problems with my new phone. Also, sorry if the first chapter was boring. That blame also goes to my phone.


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